Doctor with "lust for murder" goes on trial for deaths of 15 patients in Germany
The 40-year-old palliative care specialist, named by German media as Johannes M., is alleged to have killed 12 women and three men between September 2021 and July 2024 while working in Berlin.
The doctor is accused of injecting the victims, aged between 25 and 94, with deadly cocktails of sedatives and in some cases setting fire to their homes in a bid to cover up his crimes.
The accused had "visited his patients under the pretext of providing medical care", prosecutor Philipp Meyhoefer said at the opening of the trial at the state court in Berlin.
Johannes M. had organized "home visits, already with the intention of killing" and exploited his patients' trust in him as a doctor, Meyhoefer said.
"He acted with disregard for life... and behaved as the master of life and death."
The court-appointed defendant's lawyers (left to right), Klaudia Dawidowic, Ria Halbritter and Christoph Stoll, wait for the start of the trial of a palliative care doctor allegedly accused of killing 15 patients with lethal injections, in the Regional Courtroom in Berlin, on July 14, 2025.
TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP via Getty Images
A co-worker first raised the alarm over Johannes M. last July after becoming suspicious that so many of his patients had died in fires, according to Die Zeit newspaper.
He was arrested in August, with prosecutors initially linking him to four deaths.
But subsequent investigations uncovered a host of other suspicious cases, and in April prosecutors charged Johannes M. with 15 counts of murder.
Prosecutors and police previously said that the accused is said to have had no motive beyond killing, and that the suspect's acts meet the legal definition of "lust for murder."
"Why do people kill?"
A further 96 cases were still being investigated, a prosecution spokesman told AFP, including the death of Johannes M.'s mother-in-law.
She had been suffering from cancer and mysteriously died the same weekend that Johannes M. and his wife went to visit her in Poland in early 2024, according to media reports.
The suspect reportedly trained as a radiologist and a general practitioner before going on to specialize in palliative care.
According to Die Zeit, he submitted a doctoral thesis in 2013 looking into the motives behind a series of killings in Frankfurt, which opened with the words "Why do people kill?"
The doctor allegedly "administered an anesthetic and a muscle relaxant to his patients without their knowledge or consent," the Berlin prosecutor's office said in a statement. "The latter paralyzed the respiratory muscles, leading to respiratory arrest and death within minutes."
In five cases, Johannes M. allegedly set fire to the victims' apartments after administering the injections.
On one occasion, he is accused of murdering two patients on the same day.
On the morning of July 8, 2024, he allegedly killed a 75-year-old man at his home in the Berlin district of Kreuzberg.
"A few hours later" he is said to have struck again, killing a 76-year-old woman in the neighboring Neukoelln district.
Prosecutors say he started a fire in the woman's apartment, but it went out.
"When he realized this, he allegedly informed a relative of the woman and claimed that he was standing in front of her flat and that nobody was answering the doorbell," prosecutors said.
In another case, Johannes M. "falsely claimed to have already begun resuscitation efforts" on a 56-year-old victim, who was initially kept alive by rescuers but died three days later in hospital.
Echoes of other cases
The case recalls that of notorious German nurse Niels Hoegel, who was handed a life sentence in 2019 for murdering 85 patients.
Hoegel, believed to be modern Germany's most prolific serial killer, murdered hospital patients with lethal injections between 2000 and 2005, before he was eventually caught in the act.
More recently, a 27-year-old nurse was given a life sentence in 2023 for murdering two patients by deliberately administering unprescribed drugs.
In March, another nurse went on trial in Aachen accused of injecting 26 patients with large doses of sedatives or painkillers, resulting in nine deaths.
Last week, German police revealed they are investigating another doctor suspected of killing several mainly elderly patients.
Investigators are "reviewing" deaths linked to the doctor from the town of Pinneberg in northern Germany, just outside Hamburg, police and prosecutors said.
In England, neonatal nurse Lucy Letby is serving a life sentence for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others. On July 1, three former senior leaders at the hospital where Letby worked were arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Murderer's supporters 'removed from court' for 'screaming and shouting'
A murderer's supporters were 'removed from court' after some shouted "they're all corrupt" and "may God have mercy on them" after he was convicted. Thomas Dures, 21, fled the country hours after he stabbed his teenage victim Matthew Daulby to death during a brawl in Ormskirk, the Liverpool Echo reportes. Dures was convicted of murder and wounding with intent this week following a trial at Preston Crown Court. READ MORE: 5 retro RPGs you can play right now guaranteed to make you feel like a kid again - you won't have heard of one of them READ MORE: 5 games released in 2025 guaranteed to take you back to the good old days of gaming A witness told the Echo two women who attended court in support of Dures had to be removed from the building in the aftermath of the verdict while screaming and shouting. They were reported to have made comments including "they're all corrupt, the whole place is corrupt, everybody is corrupt". One was heard to say "may God have mercy on them". Jurors previously heard Mr Daulby travelled to the Ormskirk area with friends on the evening of July 29, 2023 after receiving a message in a group chat, named "M.R.S", which stated that one of their number, who was alone and on crutches, had been punched three times by Dures. This led to a confrontation near to Alpine Bar on Railway Road, with the defendant having been present at the premises with his associate Henry Houghton earlier in the evening. The latter would strike Mr Daulby over the head with a makeshift weapon, consisting of a rock stuffed into a sports sock, during the ensuing melee. The 19-year-old suffered damage to his skull and frontal lobe during the incident, although this injury was not fatal of itself. But Dures, of Whalley Drive in Aughton, West Lancashire, then delivered the deadly blow to the chest with a knife which he had been carrying all night, having alleged that he was minding the weapon on behalf of Houghton. Mr Daulby managed to leave the scene of the fight but collapsed on nearby Moorgate, later being pronounced dead at Aintree Hospital in the early hours of July 30. Dures also stabbed two other men during the altercation before fleeing. He discarded his jacket in a nearby park in the aftermath and handed his man bag to a friend. Having washed his face in the Railway pub and disposed of the knife in an alleyway, he then took a taxi home before travelling to a friend's home at around 3am. It was there that he apparently first learned that the brawl had resulted in serious injuries, having told jurors from the witness box: "I didn't believe it. I didn't think anyone was seriously injured, because I clearly seen everyone was able to run away." Following posts on Facebook which reported Mr Daulby's death, he was collected from the Plough Inn pub by an unknown driver and taken to Kent. He thereafter travelled via the Channel Tunnel to Austria, took a coach to southern Italy and boarded a ferry to Greece. Asked why he had absconded to Europe, Dures said in his evidence: "I was scared of going to prison. There was a £10,000 bounty on my head. I was scared to come back." Join our Court and Crime WhatsApp group HERE Dures remained in Athens until December last year, when he handed himself in at a police station before being extradited back to the UK. In the intervening period, Houghton, of Barrison Green in Scarisbrick, was handed a life sentence imprisonment with a minimum term of 20 years behind bars for Mr Daulby's murder. Following his conviction, Dures will now be sentenced on Monday next week. Detective Chief Inspector Andy Fallows, from Lancashire Police's major investigation team, saying following Thursday's verdict: "After two long years, the man responsible for fatally stabbing Matthew Daulby has finally been brought to justice. "This has been two years of pain and frustration, in which the Daulbys have had so many unanswered questions. They have had to figure out a way to try and grieve, knowing the man responsible to taking their son's life before it had really started was actively evading justice and celebrating his 21st birthday in the sun, something Matthew will never be able to do. "I'd like to thank my investigation team for everything they have done in securing this conviction, the Crown Prosecution Service and our KC, Peter Glenser, and junior counsel Katy Appleton. "I would also like to thank the public and the media for all the witness appeals they shared and their help in keeping this case in the spotlight."
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Dutch Authorities Are Investigating Louis Vuitton Netherlands as Part of a Money Laundering Case
Louis Vuitton Netherlands if facing some serious scrutiny. The subsidiary of the French house is being probed by Dutch authorities for its connection to a money-laundering case against a Chinese woman. Identified as Bei W., the customer reportedly laundered nearly $3.5 million (3 million euros) from September 2021 to February 2023 at LV shops dotting the Dutch country, The New York Times reported. More from Robb Report Bulgari Unveils the First Mansion in Its Residential Resort in Turkey Buffalo Trace's Weller Line Just Dropped Its Oldest Whiskey Yet This $42 Million Mansion in Beverly Hills Was Once Home to a 'Gone With the Wind' Star Over the almost 18-month period, Bei W. never surpassed 10,000 euros, or almost $11,800, on a single luxury-goods transaction; going over that benchmark would call for a report of a cash purchase, The New York Times reported. That repeated string of sales, as well as hovering near the cash-reporting threshold, should have been a red flag to Louis Vuitton Netherlands stores, authorities say. As a result, prosecutors are investigating the subsidiary to see if it violated any money-laundering regulations. Bei W. allegedly used unlawful funds, sourced from illicit activities, to purchase a variety of high-end goods from LV stores under different names and e-mail addresses, authorities detailed at a preliminary hearing earlier this month. The customer in question reportedly used daigou, a practice where a person purchases goods on behalf of someone located in mainland China and ships the items to them, to shop at the Dutch Louis Vuitton stores. Bei W. allegedly sent her purchases back to China and Hong Kong, officials say. These kinds of daigou purchases (the market of which is estimated around $87 billion in 2023, according to the site Dutch News) can skirt high import taxes in China, but they can also be a way to conceal the source of illicit funds. That's key here, because Dutch authorities allege Bei W.'s money came from an underground banker trying to launder money. The person from whom she received the cash has already been convicted for their involvement in the plot. Two others involved in the case are also facing charges, one of whom worked at the maison and allegedly alerted Bei W. as to when items become available in the proper price range for the scheme, according to prosecutors. LVMH did not immediately respond to Robb Report's request for comment. Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
US condemns French inquiry into Musk's social media platform X
US officials condemned France's criminal investigation into the social network X, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, after Paris cybercrime prosecutors said they were examining complaints in France that the X algorithm had been used for foreign interference in French politics. US officials issued a harsh condemnation Friday of France's criminal investigation into the social network X, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, on suspicion of foreign interference. 'As part of a criminal investigation, an activist French prosecutor is requesting information on X's proprietary algorithm and has classified X as an 'organized crime group,'' the US State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor wrote on their X account. 'Democratic governments should allow all voices to be heard, not silence speech they dislike. The United States will defend the free speech of all Americans against acts of foreign censorship.' Paris cybercrime prosecutors called for the police probe July 11 to investigate suspected crimes—including manipulating and extracting data from automated systems 'as part of a criminal gang.' The social media company last week denied the allegations, calling them 'politically motivated.' Read moreEurope's leaders have had enough of Musk's meddling, but can they stop him? X also said it had refused to comply with the prosecutor's request to access its recommendation algorithm and real-time data. The investigation follows two January complaints that alleged the X algorithm had been used for foreign interference in French politics. One of the complaints came from Eric Bothorel, an MP from President Emmanuel Macron's centrist party, who complained of 'reduced diversity of voices and options' and Musk's 'personal interventions' in the platform's management since he took it over. X said it 'categorically denies' all allegations and that the probe 'is distorting French law in order to serve a political agenda and, ultimately, restrict free speech.' Tesla and SpaceX chief Musk has raised hackles with his forays into European politics, including vocal backing for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party ahead of February legislative elections. Read more'Sheep for hire': Trump, Musk and Zuckerberg's dangerous plan for Europe 'Democracy is too fragile to let digital platform owners tell us what to think, who to vote for or even who to hate,' Bothorel said after the investigation was announced. (FRANCE 24 with AFP)
